Diversity Is Key To Yellow Jackets' Win

Sports

September 13, 1992|By Joe Williams Of The Sentinel Staff

Leesburg coach Ed Hoffman had promised to diversify his offense this year in order to keep defenses from keying on Oran Singleton, and the Yellow Jackets were indeed more diversified in Friday night's 7-6 victory over Eustis.

The Leesburg-Eustis football game was one of seven that helped kick off the season for all nine high school teams in Lake and Sumter counties Friday night.

Although Singleton still got the lion's share of the work (19 carries for 159 yards), quarterback Steve Gooden and fullback Nick Williams got their share of carries. Gooden carried the ball 12 times for 55 yards and Williams, who showed that he could be the tough, straight-ahead runner Leesburg needs to complement Singleton, rushed for 44 yards on 12 carries.

In addition, Leesburg went to the air more often than last year when the Yellow Jackets averaged only 2.5 passes a game.

Tavares quarterback Billy Keener made his return to high school football a successful one as the Bulldogs defeated Gateway, 14-0, avenging a loss to the Panthers last year.

But Keener didn't exactly have a great night passing the ball, connecting on 2 of 11 attempts for only 30 yards.

Keener, a 6-feet-1, 180-pound senior, is coming off a neck injury last year that forced him to miss the last six games and limited his passing to 279 yards.

Kendrick Moore is going to see a lot more running duty and that is a promise made by Clermont coach Bruce Kregloe.

Moore, who rushed for 177 yards on 15 carries, scored twice in the Highlanders' 42-0 victory over Lecanto. It is his carries per game that Kregloe promised to increase, not necessarily his yardage.

''We just didn't have the ball enough in the first half,'' Kregloe said. ''We'll try to get the ball to Kendrick at least 25 times a game.''

It was hard to tell whether Umatilla's coaches or players were more upset with Friday night's 40-13 loss to Keystone Heights. During the game, the edge seemed to go to the players, who voiced their frustrations to themselves and each other, while the coaches appeared relatively reserved.

The coaches took over afterward, though, and it was hard to ignore the yelling from the locker room as they chastised the Bulldogs for a disappointing effort.